


Movie Night

by Dewdrop1999



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Comfort, Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:20:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27733702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dewdrop1999/pseuds/Dewdrop1999
Summary: In which I write about two of my favorite characters from a game I've never played, watching a movie I've never seen.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	Movie Night

Nights like this didn’t come too often, so when they did, Hank tried to make the most of them. 

Most days, Hank would leave the precinct long before Connor, and arrive the next day to find him there before everyone else once more. The deviant android usually spent his nights at Jericho aiding in the administrative tasks with Markus and the others, tackling the myriad of issues that plagued despite overall progress. The first few weeks this pattern kept up, Hank worried the kid would work himself to death- or shutdown, or whatever the hell else exhaustion could do to an android. 

“But I don’t get exhausted,” Connor had said. “I know exactly when and for how long my systems need to rest, and I allow them to as needed.” 

Yeah, Hank had figured he’d say something along those lines. 

So on those rare nights when Connor did come home after work, Hank made a point to have little discussion of police-work or deviant activism. Neither of those topics he had an issue with, per se, but surely even a state-of-the-art RK800 needed a rest from the constant toil of tackling the world’s biggest issues, no matter what the kid said. At first, they had tried watching basketball together, but Hank quickly realized this was not a wise decision. Within the first five minutes of the game, Connor had already listed in rapid order the three most likely outcomes, all of which resulted in the Detroit Gears losing. 

They started to watch movies instead. 

Almost as a joke, Hank had introduced Connor to the movies he’d grown up with that involved what humanity used to think robots would be like: Wall-E, Blade Runner, A.I., and so on. Connor hadn’t found these movies funny, though; he’d found them _fascinating_ , constantly pointing out the surprising accuracies and unsurprising inaccuracies of the directors. 

On this particular night, there were no more robot-based movies in Hank’s arsenal, and so he spent a greater deal of time rifling through VHS tapes and CDs (of which Connor had reminded him on multiple occasions of the woefully outdated nature of such technologies). Sensing his unrest, Connor asked, “What’s the matter?” 

“Nothing,” Hank had grumbled in a tone that clearly begged to differ. “I just want to find a good one, that’s all.” 

“You don’t have to worry about that. Just tell me what the title is and I can download the synopsis to determine if it suits both our cinematic interests.”

Hank paused at that, turning around quickly to confront the android. “Have you been doing that this whole time?” 

Connor halted in his petting of Sumo, LED flickering yellow. “Uh… no?” 

Hank let out a short laugh. “You know, deviancy may have its perks, but it’s made you into an awful liar, Connor.” 

“Are you… upset? About me looking at the endings?”

“No, no,” he said quickly, waving his hand dismissively. “I’m not _upset_ , I just- look, maybe try not looking up the ending this time, okay? ‘Cause it’s not about the ending. It’s about waiting to find out what happens next that gives the whole thing its charm.” 

“Like life,” Connor murmured, nodding slowly. 

“Yeah, sure. Like life,” Hank agreed. It still struck him, sometimes, the strangely insightful things that came from Connor’s mouth. Every week that passed, though, he was learning to be less surprised; because at the end of the day, the kid was far more than a collection of wires and analytics. He always had been- Hank just hadn’t been able to see that in the beginning. 

After much more indecision and grumbling on his part, Hank reluctantly popped in his VHS copy of _Gladiator_. In the first half hour, he kept glancing over to gauge Connor’s interest, worried that this may be too far of a deviation from their standard movie fare to keep the android engaged. But his worries were unfounded; Connor leaned forward intently during the key battle scenes, and grimaced when Maximus discovered the fate of his family. After that, Hank found himself relaxing into the narrative as well, letting it take him back to the time when he’d first watched it. 

Fifteen years old, bordered by rowdy friends pelting popcorn at girls seated a few rows in front of them. Sinking into his chair, too self-conscious to speak up, too inattentive to the movie’s plot unless there was the clash of swords on shields or the screams of angry men. When his father had asked him that night what he thought of the movie, Hank had muttered that it was ‘fine’ before retreating to his room. 

With an android beside him and a changed world unfolding every day outside their house, Hank reflected on how much the things that mattered most to him had changed. 

As the movie reached its climax and the music began to swell, chills ran down his arms. How had he not remembered this? The reunion of a family torn apart too soon, the peace that the protagonist had long longed for being upon him at last. The similarities were a little too close to home for Hank’s comfort, reminding him of the few dreams he'd had that weren’t nightmares, where it was just him and Cole and nothing else, because nothing else really _mattered_ \- 

“That… was incredible.” 

Connor sat with mouth slightly agape, eyes fixed but a little unfocused on the credits rolling by the screen. Usually at this point, he’d pick up the remote to pause the credits in their tracks, or turn to Hank to ask him what he thought of the director’s decisions on the angles of the camerawork, or if he was aware of some strange accident or coincidence that had occurred on the set of the movie. 

But this time, Connor was silent. 

Hank sniffled as quietly as he could, wiping a sleeve roughly across his eyes. No doubt, Connor had picked up on his sad state, but had the grace then to not mention it. “Yeah? You liked it?” Hank asked, trying to ignore the gravelly sound to his words. 

The android nodded, but said no more. Thinking he might be planning to go to sleep (or stasis, or whatever), Hank rose to put the VHS back into its rightful place in its dusty, crooked container. Still keenly aware of the sting in his eyes, he moved to splash some water in his face in the kitchen, but Connor’s timid voice reached him before he got the chance. 

“Do you think that place is real?” 

Hank turned, frowning and caught off guard. “What, Rome?”

“No,” Connor said, chuckling slightly at the mishap- another thing which Hank was getting used to. “Heaven.” 

“Oh.” Hank shifted where he stood, weighing his next words carefully. “I guess I’m not entirely sure. But I’d like to think it is.” 

The smallest nod, and a flash of yellow light at his temple. 

“What do you think, Connor?” Hank pressed, sensing and seeing the android’s unease. 

“I already told you, Hank.” Connor gave him a sad smile. “I doubt there’s a heaven for androids.” 

Hank, unfortunately, did indeed remember that encounter- he had hoped Connor hadn’t, or more realistically, hadn’t remembered the harsh way in which Hank had tried to strip him down to the barest beliefs. From the look in his eyes, though, Connor recalled quite vividly the gun being held to his head and the philosophical questions posed to him while under duress. 

“I think that’s bullshit,” Hank said, breaking the silence between them in a manner that surprised them both. He moved back to the couch as quickly as his joints would allow so that he could face the android fully. 

“How so, Lieutenant?” 

“I told you, Connor, at home just call me Hank.” 

“How so, Hank?”

“Look, no one knows exactly what happens when you die, but if there is a heaven, it’s supposed to be- well, like heaven, right? Where everything and everyone you care about in this life is united, in a sense.” 

Connor nodded slowly, likely sorting through who knows how many hypotheses on the afterlife before replying, “That seems to be the general consensus, yes.” 

“Well, then, if that theory holds up, then it wouldn’t make a hell of a lot of sense if I got to heaven and you weren’t there.” 

Despite his _state-of-the-art_ processing systems that were never exhausted, it took Connor a considerable amount of time to process that statement. When he did, Hank didn’t even have to look at his LED to know it was spinning a bright blue, as the grin that came to Connor’s face was enough confirmation. “You’re right there, Hank,” he said softly. 

Hank nodded, leaning back into the couch with satisfaction. “And if you aren’t there, I’ll have some strong words with God.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Connor said with a laugh. “Just don’t piss him off, okay?” 

“Eh. No promises.” 

That wasn’t the last time they watched _Gladiator_ together- because after all, it wasn’t only the ending that mattered. It was all that happened in between. 

**Author's Note:**

> I pounded this out in about an hour with very little editing, so it ain't much, but it's honest work. :) Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
